With only three weeks remaining in the regular season, there’s no way that third-placed Cavaliers could catch either 2nd placed Boston Celtics or Raptors as they have, most probably, run out of games to close the gap on top two teams. But teams like Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, and Philadelphia 76ers, all are still in the race to finish higher than Cleveland.

LeBron James, once again, is leading the charge for his team and is averaging 27.3 points this season, making him the 4th best player in that aspect. Raptors’ small-forward OG Anunoby could be assigned the task of man-marking James and this may very well be the hardest job yet for this 20-year old Englishman considering James is firing on all cylinders in the last few matches.

As a team, Cleveland Cavaliers are averaging 110.5 points, and are shooting at an average of 47.6 percent this season, while allowing opposition 110.2 points against them.

Toronto Raptors, on the other hand, are absolutely bamboozling the league this season. Nobody expected them to be leading the Eastern Conference at this stage, and with a difference of 5 games between them and Boston Celtics, who are 2nd, they are destined to win the conference this season.

Raptors are averaging 112.5 points, and are shooting at 47.2 percent while allowing the opposition 103.9 points against them. So they are accumulating more points than Cavaliers and that makes them a dangerous outfit and a herculean task for home team’s guards.

But what makes the Raptors so special is their team ethics, and it could be seen by some stats- no Raptors player is in the top-5 in the points, assists, or rebounds charts.

Their top performing player in Demar DeRozan, who is averaging 23.7 points, and is the 11th best player in NBA this season. While in assists charts, Jonas Valanciunas is racking up 8.6 assists per game, bringing him at 16th in that regard.

So the game could turn out to be the battle of Lebron James’ individual brilliance and Toronto Raptors’ team-game-

So all the Fantasy team lovers, choose your team wisely.

MATCH DETAILS:

When: March 22, 04:30 AM IST

Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

Capacity- 20,562

Form of the Team-

Cleveland Cavaliers have won their last two games, while Toronto Raptors have tasted defeat only once in their last 11 games in NBA this season.

Season Record-

Cleveland Cavaliers – Win – 41, Loss – 29

Toronto Raptors – Win – 53, Loss – 18

Top Performer –

For Cleveland Cavaliers-

Players Name

Distribution

Points Per Game

LeBron James

27.3

Rebounds per Game

Kevin Love

9.3

Assists Per Game

LeBron James

9.0

For Toronto Raptors:

Players Name

Distribution

Points Per Game

DeMar DeRozan

23.7

Rebounds per Game

Jonas Valanciunas

8.6

Assists Per Game

Kyle Lowry

6.7

TOR VS CLE TEAM NEWS:

Cleveland Cavaliers:

Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to be without a host of stars for this crunch game as Rodney Hood (Back Injury), Cedi Osman (Groin Injury), Tristan Thompson (Ankle Injury), and Okaro White (Foot Injury) are all nursing their respective injuries.

Cleveland Cavaliers are playing at home, so they should be considered as favorites. But Toronto Raptors are one of the best performing team in NBA this season, so the visitors have enough arsenal to hurt the hosts.

But LeBron James is too big a player to accept the visitors’ dominance at his own den. These are the games he will be remembered for when he finally bids adieu to his glittering career.